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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28097457">A Trooper's Guide to Lightsaber Maintenance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShaeTiann/pseuds/ShaeTiann'>ShaeTiann</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Puns, Canon-Typical Limb Loss, Fix-It, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Light Bondage, M/M, Mutual Pining, Obi-Wan Gets Yeeted</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:00:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,591</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28097457</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShaeTiann/pseuds/ShaeTiann</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Or: Five Times Cody Took Care of His General's Lightsaber (and One Time Obi-Wan Returned the Favour)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>721</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>My heart is full, hope is like the sun</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Trooper's Guide to Lightsaber Maintenance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/jynx/gifts">jynx</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy birthday, Jynx!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As far as their first action alongside their Generals went, this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> how Cody had envisioned it. His imagination had provided fantasies of meeting their commanding officers on a station or on Kamino, and deploying together, operating as a single cohesive unit driving towards a common objective.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not that he'd thought the battles would be grand, sweeping things. Their trainers had offered enough anecdotes and even helmet-cam footage to kill the more fanciful notions of war. It was a gritty, chaotic thing, and Geonosis had lived up to that expectation from the start. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A tiny, wizened green alien in Jedi robes had arrived on Kamino and ordered an immediate deployment -- a rescue mission, he'd said -- and he'd just… expected them to know what to do and how to do it. There had been no briefing, no real idea of what to expect, nobody had scouted the area and relayed intel back. They didn't even know if they would be fighting living opponents or mechanical until they were in the dropships on their way to the surface!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They'd had no idea, and people had died. Over a hundred Generals and Commanders, thousands of troops and commandos. The losses were staggering as the reports were updated directly to his comm -- he'd eventually set the updates to text-only so he could focus. Geonosis taught him one thing: while the GAR had been trained for warfare, their expected Generals had not. They would need to accommodate for that in the future, if any of them survived this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's recon squad entered the hangar, following reports of pursuit of the Primary Target -- one Count Dooku -- in time to see the shrivelled green General fighting an elderly human man. With </span>
  <em>
    <span>lightsabers.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He wouldn't have thought it possible, given the tiny General's use of a walking stick and their size disparity, but the green raisin was holding his own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no clear shot at the Primary Target. The Count had noticed their arrival and was keeping the flying raisin in between himself and the exit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two Jedi lay on the floor on the far side of the hangar, one young enough that he was likely a Commander; Cody only noticed them when the fight shifted to one side. His attention caught on the one in light-coloured robes, the one Cody had seen with the Kaminiise only a week before. He'd been soaked and bedraggled then; now he looked utterly wrecked, like he'd been through more than one fight, and bore scorched wounds in his left arm and leg. Cody wondered why he wasn't bleeding out for half a second before their flash lessons about Jedi weaponry kicked his memory into gear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Count Dooku seemed to decide he'd had enough of playing with lightsabers; he locked his blade with General Raisin's and stretched his hand towards the far wall. A massive metal column screeched as it </span>
  <em>
    <span>detached itself</span>
  </em>
  <span> and dropped towards the two fallen Jedi--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only to drift to a halt as General Raisin flung out his own hands, the fight forgotten.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody wasn't so distracted that he could forget his duty. "Primary Target! Fire!" The flurry of blaster bolts didn't seem to slow Dooku much: he simply deflected them away with the red blade of his 'saber and ran for his ship. The column crashed to the floor beyond the wounded Jedi, and General Raisin sighed before summoning his walking stick, seemingly content to watch the Count's ship depart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody cursed softly, already strategising ways to prevent this from happening in the future. Maybe a straight-up bodily tackle… although the lit lightsaber would be a problem for that. He tucked the problem away for later. "Snap, get the medics in here with an evac shuttle, we have two wounded. Wire, Jog, get them stabilised. Everyone else: security perimeter."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, sir!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He approached the tiny General who glanced at him. There were centuries in that brief look, and he seemed exhausted. Cody straightened, despite having to keep his eyes at knee height. "What are your orders, General?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"With Knight Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker you will stay, until arrives, the shuttle does. With them, your squad will go." He sighed. "Master Windu, I must find. Your ship, at the entrance it is?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The LAAT/i pilots knew better than to abandon a squad in such a remote part of the field, although they would have drawn off a ways to prevent Targets from attempting to hijack the ship. "I'll call them in to pick you up, sir."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He watched the tiny General make his way out of the hangar, leaning heavily on his stick as if he hadn't just been flipping around the room from wall to wall. But the effort seemed to have taken its toll on him… and some other emotional weight he chose not to share.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn't matter right now. Cody walked the perimeter while everyone else did their jobs. There was nothing to secure except for the broken halves of something his training told him was a lightsaber hilt. Something about it sent unpleasant prickles down his nerves like a static shock as he collected the pieces and handed them over to the beautiful female General who had arrived with Needles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the fallen General and Commander were loaded carefully onto stretchers, Needles' foot hit something that had been concealed beneath them; the dim lights flashing copper off the metal, it skittered and spun across the floor. The General twisted against the medics' grip, reaching for it with a cry of dismay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody caught it against the side of his foot before it could roll over the edge of the platform into the gap between floor plates. Another lightsaber hilt, this one intact; when he picked it up, it felt warm instead of spiky. Like a hug from one of his brothers, or the warmth of napping in a pile together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Needles made an exasperated noise and slapped the General's hand down, pushing him flat onto the stretcher. "The Captain's got it, sir, and he'll be coming with us back to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aken.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Don't make me sedate you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The long-haired Jedi gave Needles an affronted glare. "I assure you, that won't be necessary. I'm fine."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We're going to need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>operate</span>
  </em>
  <span> to remove damaged muscle and rebuild what's left," Needles snapped. "Good luck walking until then. Now lie the kriff down."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody bit his lip on a grin, even if they couldn't see his expression through his helmet. Every medic in the corps seemed to have been decanted with a chip on their shoulder and secure knowledge that they had the authority to ground a superior officer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He offered the lightsaber to the other General, who waved him off. "If you're going back to the ship with them, better you hold onto it. I must remain here for now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What about the other one, sir?" Cody didn't miss the Jedi's twitch at the title, and his heart sank a little more. None of these people were trained for command.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's unsalvageable, the crystal is damaged. You could probably feel it when you touched it. That one, though," she gestured to the one in Cody's hand, "belongs to Knight Kenobi. Better if someone keeps an eye on it while the healers see to him."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitated; they knew how important the weapons were to the Jedi, if not precisely </span>
  <em>
    <span>why,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but… this was a General confirming permission. With a nod, he clipped the lightsaber firmly to his belt and said, "Thank you, General…?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She grimaced. "I am High Councilor Depa Billaba."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A High General then. He definitely wasn't breaking propriety. Cody nodded again and turned to follow the medics onto the ship. General Kenobi would be less of a problem patient for Needles if his lightsaber was nearby.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ventress was easily Cody's least favourite person to deal with, and he cursed as he levered himself up to a sitting position, head swimming from his forcible introduction to the side of a cliff. He blinked at the blankness in his HUD, the view through his visor crazed with cracks and a sharp pain running down the left side of his face. His helmet had protected him from the impact, but at the cost of its integrity. Prying it off hurt like blazes, and shattered plexi ground into his cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But his left eye still worked, so he'd take what he could get. He looked around for the others: Generals Kenobi and Vos had been tag-teaming the witch when Cody had tried to take advantage of an opening for a sniper shot, and been sent flying for his trouble. They were still going -- he must have only been out for a few seconds -- the Generals keeping themselves between Ventress and Cody. It would be flattering if it didn't run wholly counter to the clones' training; even a Commander of Cody's rank was more replaceable than a Jedi.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could argue it with them later; his General had promoted him to a rank that actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>let</span>
  </em>
  <span> him do that, which Cody was still getting used to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least Kenobi and Vos were old friends, familiar enough with each other's fighting styles that they weren't at risk of injuring themselves. Cody hooked his shattered bucket to his belt and picked himself up, resisting the urge to wipe at the blood. The Generals would make an opening for Cody when they sensed he was ready, and he checked his rifle quickly before lining up for another shot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ventress, damn her, was too fucking aware of the battlefield, and never gave them that chance. She locked up both Jedi's 'sabers and lashed out with a high kick that caught Kenobi in the elbow. His weapon went flying, the blade deactivating almost immediately, and he rolled out of range. Vos cursed as he moved in on Ventress, pushing her back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She cackled. "Such language, Jedi. What would your Council say?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, pardon my Huttese! I didn't think you had delicate sensibilities to offend!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Ventress had expected Cody's General to back off, or try to recall his weapon she was in for a surprise. Cody had learned the hard way in sparring that Kenobi was possibly more dangerous unarmed than he was with a blade. As soon as the Jedi regained his feet, he was moving back in, weaving around Vos and under three flying laser blades, getting into hugging range and catching Ventress in the jaw with a vicious left elbow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody was too professional to let on that his heart was in his throat; so he sidled over to reclaim the General's lightsaber before turning to pick off a group of droids that thought they could sneak up on the fight. There'd be no getting a shot at the witch with his General going hand-to-hand against lightsabers, the least he could do was keep an eye on their six.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually Ventress ran off, like she always did. They never could seem to capture her, and sometimes Cody wondered if she thought it was all just a karking game. The Jedi would always reject suggestions to go for a kill if the opportunity was there, but taking any target alive was always going to be impossible unless they chose to cooperate. And 'cooperate' wasn't a word in most Seppies' vocabulary.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vos picked himself up from where he'd been thrown, patting grit from his robes. "Well, that went better than last time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Indeed." Kenobi was rubbing his jaw, where a spectacular bruise was already forming. He shook out the arm Ventress had initially kicked; he was definitely going to need that checked over by Penlight, and Cody would happily be on General-wrangling duty if it meant the man wasn't wasting his energy self-healing a cracked bone. "Sometimes I can't tell if </span>
  <em>
    <span>we're</span>
  </em>
  <span> trying to keep </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> busy so she can't be in the thick of things, or if it's the other way around."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The clones are better at strategy than the droids are, they can adapt to us not being there," Vos said with a shrug. "Either way, it works in our favour."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody scoffed as he walked over to them, keeping one eye on the approach from the main battlefield. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, General," he said dryly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey," Vos said, grinning. "The only thing the droids have going for them is numbers."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They also had a built-in network that allowed them to accept changes to their commanders' strategy without any delay. Cody rolled his eyes. "I want you to tell that to the Seppies. Maybe they'll surrender when they hear your scathing assessment."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vos actually looked thoughtful for a moment, and Kenobi gave him an alarmed look. "Quinlan, no."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You gotta admit, the looks on their faces would be priceless." He clapped Kenobi on the shoulder. "Come on, let's see if your lightsaber landed somewhere we can get to."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No need," Kenobi said, and held a hand out to Cody. "The Commander has it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wait--" Vos' dark eyes went round as Cody unclipped the weapon from his belt and handed it back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His General was radiating smugness as he accepted it. "I knew Cody would retrieve it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other Jedi stared at them for a moment. "Is this a recent thing, or did I miss something in the last few months?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody exchanged a quizzical look with Kenobi. "I know I can trust Cody to have my back," Kenobi said. "Sometimes that includes him catching my lightsaber-- are you quite alright?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vos had gone bright red and looked like he was dying. "Is that- is that what the troops are calling it these days?" he wheezed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi sighed, propped his fists on his hips, and glared at Vos; Cody suddenly wished he had his helmet on. "You really are the worst, Quin. Let's get the Commander here back to Penlight to get his face seen to." Ignoring Vos's sputtering, he turned to frown at the blood running down the left side of Cody's face. "That looks like it's going to scar, I'm afraid."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody shrugged. He wasn't certain what his face was doing, but ignoring the other Jedi's snickering was tough. Vos' sense of humour was inconvenient at best. "It could be worse. I'll live." His comm picked that moment to crackle to life, and he silently thanked Waxer for his timing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"They're on the retreat, sir. Were you planning on joining us for the cleanup?"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody caught his General's eye; his General slid a scathing glance in Vos' direction before leaning into pickup range.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We'll be right there."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody signed off, then froze when Kenobi clasped his wrist; he gripped back, uncertain of why the General was--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Quinlan's irreverence aside, I do trust you, Cody." He smiled and tapped the hilt at his belt. "Thank you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's stomach twisted but he managed a smile. "Just doing my duty, sir."</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn't the first time Cody had been separated from his General, but it was definitely the worst. Helplessly watching Kenobi's dropship get shot out of the sky on their way to the surface of Mindor was the most gut-wrenching experience of Cody's life. To make it even better, General Skywalker was screaming for Kenobi on the comms, and Cody had to basically promise to recover Kenobi personally -- even though his place was </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> on the front lines -- or Skywalker would have gone AWOL outright, leaving only the Commander in charge. Cody liked Tano, she had spark. But she was also fifteen and didn't always think her ideas through before leaping into action.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Granted, Skywalker wasn't much better, but between the two of them they had almost a full brain cell. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So here Cody was with a small strike force charging through stringy, dry waist-high grass that concealed swampy puddles, in the direction of a column of smoke a klik distant from the battle. Bits of shattered Lartie were strewn across the field, pointing like an arrow toward the wreck. Even at this range they could see battle droids converging on what was left of the dropship, so there were survivors. For now, anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's foot hit a puddle and sank in almost knee-deep. He cursed and managed to roll with it -- the last thing he needed right now was a broken leg. Something solid and metal clinked against his armour; when he saw what it was, his blood ran cold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi's lightsaber, buried emitter-down in the soft turf. His General was probably trying to straight up shield their survivors with the Force alone. Cody had seen him do it before, but not against as many droids as the scout was counting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Snarling another curse, Cody grabbed the lightsaber and charged ahead, hooking it securely to the appropriate catch that now hung on his belt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The field was too much of a mess of debris, droids, and smoke for them to make out the survivors; Cody's team went in firing high to draw the droids' attention off whoever was left. With allies on two sides, there was too much risk of shooting each other. While the rest of his team drew the droids away, Cody dove in swinging, carving a path through the enemy toward what looked like the most defensible piece of debris. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody ever expected a sentient to punch a droid in the head, and as long as they kept putting the primary processing unit there, Cody would keep doing it. A hard enough strike in the right place would rattle a droid's chips and make them stutter -- maybe it caused an error, or an electrical short -- long enough to disable the droid permanently. It exasperated his General every time he did it, because he felt Cody was risking himself unnecessarily. It was still a lot safer than the ordeals Kenobi knowingly put himself through on an almost daily basis.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Speaking of whom…. Cody twisted a final droid's head until it was dangling by a single remaining wire and scanned the field. The rest had been drawn off and were on their way to becoming scrap, and the occasional cautiously opportunistic shot was popping off from behind the makeshift barricade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His General had definitely made it down alive: the pieces of the Lartie were too heavy to have been hauled into place by hand. He hauled himself up and over the barricade to find most of the troops still alive, though a few were visibly in need of medical attention, and one exhausted but unrepentant General with a broken collarbone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That was quite a show, Commander," he said with a brilliant grin, as if he wasn't soot-streaked and being forcibly kept from rising by a brother lying with his bandaged head on the General's leg.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody covered his now customary stomach-flopping reaction with a stern glare which he knew translated well through his helmet. "And just how many people did you physically drag to safety?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"More than he should've," Hitch interrupted before Kenobi could do more than open his mouth. The junior medic had only just been assigned to support Penlight, but he'd been well informed of what kind of shenanigans to expect from their General. Hitch cocked his bucket at the General as he started to protest. "You're lucky you didn't compound that fracture and that's why you're playing pillow for Vox until we get a pickup." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I assure you, Lieutenant, I'm perfectly fine!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody smothered a laugh as Hitch's shoulders went rigid with indignation; he patted the medic on the arm. "You seem to have this under control, I'll be right back."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Twenty-four of the twenty-nine troops in the transport had made it, including the pilot, copilot, and gunners; but most of them were in no condition to join the main offensive. Even Hitch was limping carefully with the aid of a broken strut. Cody's team set up a beacon and shifted the barricade enough for people to get through, then set up a perimeter. General Skywalker calmed down once Cody reported in; it was a little concerning how competitive the man became when informed that he was officially the primary leader on the field, and would probably lead to risks that gave Rex a heart attack. Cody's brother had taken to venting to him over the comms about what Skywalker had pulled </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> time, and it was a wonder his blond hair wasn't already going white.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody finally signed off and turned to his General, still sitting with Vox's head on his lap. Vox was awake and looking pained, and Kenobi was doing a good job hiding it, but he was a shade too pale and the line of his mouth was tighter than usual. Sighing, Cody unclipped the lightsaber and offered it back, grip-first.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi stared at it for a moment before accepting it back. "Once again you restore my life to me," he joked, and Cody rolled his eyes. He'd heard Kenobi give both Skywalker and Tano the </span>
  <em>
    <span>'your lightsaber is your life'</span>
  </em>
  <span> talk at least twice in the past few months, but it seemed the lineage tradition had to start somewhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then the General frowned and grasped Cody's hand, and Cody's brain stuttered to a halt. "Commander, whatever happened to your hand?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blinking, it took Cody a moment to notice that the plastoid plate across the back of his right hand was split severely. His hand worked just fine when he flexed it in Kenobi's gentle grip, and nothing hurt more than usual after a fight. "Punched a droid or two. Guess it's time to retire that piece." He'd offer the shards up to the rest of his company for the more superstitious to hold on to. It was hardly regulation, but anything that kept morale up without causing property damage was worth overlooking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Cody," Kenobi chided, "you had my lightsaber right there. You could have used it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a good thing he was still wearing his helmet; his ears were probably glowing from what surely must have been an unintentionally intimate offer. From a brother, that would have been as good as a proposal. Vox wasn't so fortunate; the injured man's eyes went wide and he made a strangled noise of shock at the casual offer of permission to </span>
  <em>
    <span>use someone else's weapon.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kenobi frowned and released Cody's hand, pressing his palm to Vox's forehead until he settled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's voice finally came back enough for him to choke out, "With respect, sir, I'm no Jedi. I'd probably be more of a danger to myself with something like that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The Force is in all things." Kenobi smiled. "A Jedi's lightsaber is merely a tool. An </span>
  <em>
    <span>attuned</span>
  </em>
  <span> tool, but just a tool. Mine has ended up in your care often enough that you should familiarise yourself with it, if only as a last resort. It's much more efficient at disabling droids than </span>
  <em>
    <span>hitting</span>
  </em>
  <span> them is."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody felt a grin spreading unbidden across his face; from the raised eyebrow his General gave him, the other man could sense it too. "Yeah, but you should see the looks I get from the Shinies after a battle. They're great."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I've no doubt." Kenobi nodded to himself. "Once we're done here--" He hesitated as Hitch turned a glare in their direction; some medic's sixth sense for shenanigans probably alerted him. Kenobi cleared his throat. "Once I'm given a clean bill of health--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Be a little more realistic," Cody couldn't help teasing. The General was already notorious for subsisting on tea and meditation alone, and Penlight was just itching for an excuse to strap the General down and sedate him into eight hours of actual sleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi rolled his eyes, which was delightful. "I'll add some katas to our training regimen once my shoulder is healed."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There really wasn't any way to bow out of the offer -- Cody and his General had just happened to prefer training at the same time every day, and eventually had started working together. "Fine. But Penlight has to clear you first."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least Obi-Wan had the sense to look offended while Vox giggled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was worth it purely for the absolutely</span>
  <em>
    <span> scandalised</span>
  </em>
  <span> look on Skywalker's face when he saw them training together a couple weeks later.</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I still haven't figured out whose fault this is: yours or ours."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody, pressed shoulder to shoulder with Wolffe, rolled his eyes and kept firing. "Maybe if we asked politely, General Grievous would tell us which of our Generals he's been stalking."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boarding actions really were the worst: too much could go wrong. The docking tubes were the weakest link -- literally -- and the risk of getting blown back out into the void was high. Phase II armour had better seals and temperature control than Phase I, but a human body was a miniscule speck of biomatter in the vastness of space. Worse, they were currently in orbit over Zeltros, and unprotected entry into the planet's atmosphere was more likely than being picked up by a retrieval team.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But they didn't have a choice. The Senate had sent Generals Kenobi and Koon to try to convince Queen Imi-Sokoba from seceding to join the Council of Neutral Systems. Just before their arrival in-system, Grievous had abducted the Queen to his flagship, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Invisible Hand,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and was holding her hostage to force her government to side with the Separatists.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which was how they ended up slowly pushing forward through the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hand'</span>
  </em>
  <span>s corridors, drawing the droids' attention while the Generals infiltrated to retrieve the Zeltronian regent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's comm pinged. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"We've located the Queen,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> his General reported, his voice soft and clearly trying to avoid being overheard. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"There's an observation deck at the top of the spire. We have a plan, but backup would be helpful."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The 'spire' was a tall fin-like structure rising at the stern of the ship. The good news was it was nearly directly above them; the bad news was that it was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span> way up and they'd be lucky to get the lifts to work for them once their presence was noted. Cody had the feeling their Generals had taken the Jedi way up. "Got a plan for getting us there?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wolffe smacked his arm, grabbed one of the downed B1s, and ripped its left arm off. Slinging the limb over his shoulder, Cody's brother tilted his helmet in a manner that suggested a massive smug grin underneath. "Don't worry, General, we've got this in hand."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I can't believe you said that," Cody groaned as he followed Wolffe to the lifts. "Cipher team, with me!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wolfpack, let's go!" Wolffe punched Cody in the arm, a little harder. "Never pass up the chance for a good pun. General </span>
  <em>
    <span>Buir</span>
  </em>
  <span> loves it, and General Kenobi seems the type to appreciate it too."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody side-eyed Wolffe as he set about plugging the droid's hand into an access panel. "General Koon know you call him that?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He'll deny all knowledge if you ask him."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their Generals were waiting when they reached the uppermost floor. The hallway was suspiciously clear, and Cody frowned. "Where is everyone?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Koon pointed at the sealed door at the end of the hall. "General Grievous is there, with the Queen. He's been on holo with her Cabinet for some time negotiating, but we instructed them to stall for time." He looked at Cody. "Commander, once we break through, we need you to shoot out the comm unit. We do not need this fight being broadcast."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody nodded; nobody else had come nearly as close to breaking the Prime's ranged targeting record as Cody had, and he carried a rifle for a reason. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There is a contingent of MagnaGuards and B2 battle droids in the room, and we suspect at least two droidekas. Keep them occupied while we engage Grievous. If an opportunity arises to evacuate the Queen, you will take it and not wait for us."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Typical Jedi, suggesting their soldiers would just leave them behind, but the Queen's safety </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a priority, and unlike other elected regents on planets like Naboo, Imi-Sokoba and her predecessors weren't expected to be able to fight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were, in fact, a lot more droids on the observation deck than the Generals had thought. Cody couldn't be upset over the lapse in intel -- Kenobi had once explained that droids couldn't be sensed in the Force, that what the Jedi relied upon was a sense of </span>
  <em>
    <span>threat</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>danger</span>
  </em>
  <span> toward themselves and their troops -- and he didn't have time to worry about it, anyway. His and Wolffe's squads engaged the droids without hesitation, the Generals launched themselves high over the droids' heads to land on either side of a raging General Grievous, and Cody hunkered down to present a less obvious target and took out the comms system with a triple-tap. He must have nailed something vital with that last just-in-case shot: a shower of sparks fountained up from the console.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The entrance balcony was a good vantage point, and Cody made good use of it, sniping droids and taking an occasional potshot at Grievous when the opportunity presented itself. It distracted the cyborg Kaleesh enough for the Generals to keep up with the four separate lightsabers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Wolfpack bundled the Queen up the stairs and past Cody, not quite fast enough that Grievous didn't notice. Snarling furiously, he kicked, and Kenobi went flying across the room to slam into the wall under the balcony. A flash of terror jolted through Cody and he cursed -- a human body, even a Jedi, could only take so much punishment -- and then cursed again as the support under the balcony creaked and shifted. With a heart-stopping screech, it tilted forward, dumping Cody two metres down onto the main floor where Cipher team and Wolffe were mopping up the droids.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody managed to roll, but his General hadn't; Kenobi lay crumpled half underneath the collapsed balcony. He was breathing, but shallowly, and he groaned when Cody touched his throat in search of a pulse. He hadn't had time to deactivate his lightsaber before hitting the wall, and the blade had sliced through the supports and partway through the bulkhead before the General had dropped it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grievous was bearing down on General Koon with all four blades now, and somehow the Kel Dor Jedi was able to keep up. The Separatist General wheezed a harsh laugh. "His weapon will make a fine addition to my collection!" he taunted, and--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was meant for Koon, an attempt to rattle the unflappable Jedi Master. But-- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A surge of protective rage roared up in his chest. That lightsaber belonged to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Obi-Wan,</span>
  </em>
  <span> dammit, and nobody else got to claim it as long as Cody had the final word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grievous would </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> get to claim any other Jedi's lightsaber.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was charging across the room behind the line of Cipher team, the General's 'saber in his hand, without really thinking about it. Distantly, he heard Wolffe yell his name, knew the safest option would be to haul General Kenobi to safety; but General Koon was still facing off with Johnny Four Lightsabers alone, and blasters weren't much of a threat to a cyborg plated in duranium alloy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lightsabers didn't handle like vibroblades; he'd learned this early when the General had insisted he use one of the Jedi's training 'sabers. The blade had no weight, but there was an inherent </span>
  <em>
    <span>momentum</span>
  </em>
  <span> to it from the energy loop, which lent well to the sweeping, circular movements of Jedi combat forms. The reason non-Jedi had trouble controlling a lightsaber was simple unfamiliarity with their operation and the crystals being uncertain of the wielder. But it had been almost a year of regular training sessions, and Cody and his brothers had been designed to learn quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And it wasn't the first time he'd handled his General's lightsaber. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grievous saw him coming, because of course he did, and caught Cody's first strike with one blade before bringing a second around angling for his head. General Koon called out a warning, but Cody was already moving, rolling forward and taking the opportunity to slash at Grievous' less-armoured knee joint before skipping back out of the way. The knee buckled as Grievous tried to turn and the metal sheared, locking up; Grievous roared as he staggered, only just getting a blade in to block Koon's next strike.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>General Koon caught on quickly; between him, Cody, and the distraction of the troops' blaster-fire, they succeeded in literally disarming Grievous in a matter of minutes. Cody would have preferred to just kill Grievous and get it over with, but he understood the Jedi's insistence of live capture so that the cyborg General could face justice for numerous war crimes. Whether the justice Grievous received would even amount to anything remained to be seen, but that wasn't up to Cody.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While most of Cipher Team secured Grievous and hauled him away -- the General was shrieking threats and insults the whole time, and Cody wouldn't be too shocked if he showed up in court in need of a new vox unit -- Penlight hurried over to General Kenobi, with Candor and Bob on his heels. Between the three of them, they managed to shift the fallen balcony enough to extract Kenobi. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's undersuit was soaked with sweat and he hauled his helmet off, gasping as General Koon walked over and clasped his shoulder. "Well done, Commander. Master Kenobi mentioned you were training together; it seems to have been time well spent."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At Koon's shoulder, Wolffe looked very obviously from Cody's face to the lightsaber now clipped to his belt and back, then raised his eyebrows. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's teeth clenched for a moment -- it didn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean</span>
  </em>
  <span> anything, that his General had taught him to use the weapon that kept falling into his hands. "I have to wonder how we didn't succeed at capturing Grievous this way before now, sir?" Cody was no Jedi; there had already been multiple opportunities for more than one Jedi to fight Grievous together, and those had almost always ended in tragedy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Koon's face crinkled in a smile behind his mask. "Because Jedi are trained in a very formalised type of combat, while you and your brothers are trained in the practical. In a </span>
  <em>
    <span>formal</span>
  </em>
  <span> duel, disabling an opponent by removing a limb would be considered a dishonourable move; but as the last three years have shown us, war is not a formal duel, and honour often relies on the status of the bigger picture. Grievous now suffers an immense indignity at our hands, and that is not honourable, but the lives spared by his capture are worth the effort."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"With all respect, sir," Wolffe said, frowning, "Grievous was never going to surrender of his own free will. This was literally the only option to take him alive."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, you are correct." The General sighed and led the way over to where Penlight was checking General Kenobi over; Kenobi's eyes were open but there was something about the careful way he held himself propped against the angle of the ruined balcony which suggested he was going to need a long dunk in a tank when they got back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We fight as if in formal combat because the political situation is uncertain," General Koon continued. "A Jedi whose actions are anything less than honourable in service to the Republic is viewed as a risk by the Senate, one that must be investigated by the Council. This wastes our resources, both on the field and in the course of ensuring the Jedi in question had only good intentions." He paused and crouched in front of Kenobi, adding, "While the Jedi have no interest in usurping the Senate's power, many in the Senate are inclined to believe otherwise."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are we discussing Senator Barqh again?" Kenobi wheezed. He grimaced, hissing a bit between his teeth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Penlight scowled at him. "Stop. Talking. You're not walking back, I'll get Pylon to send up a stretcher--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I believe I can manage this, Captain," General Koon said, with an audible smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>General Kenobi groaned but gestured with the hand that Penlight wasn't gripping to take readings. "It's undignified, but the longer we're linked to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Invisible Hand,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the more chance of us getting caught by Separatist reinforcements."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wolffe and Cody exchanged a look; Kenobi's refusal to admit discomfort was legendary, right next to his refusal to remain in Medical. Broken ribs were a definite, but Cody would have been willing to put money on internal bleeding too, if the General was willing to be levitated back to his ship. General Koon was careful, and Kenobi's posture barely shifted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Penlight watched with a critical squint. "Will you be needing assistance, General Koon?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, no. It's no more strain than lifting a rock. A very stubborn rock," Koon added with a chuckle when Kenobi made an indignant noise. Cody couldn't help grinning at that, and he unhooked the lightsaber from his belt, offering it over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Here, sir. You should have this back."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi blinked at him, then at the weapon in his hand. "I believe Penlight has nefarious plans for me, involving a bacta tank. Do me a favour and hold onto that? I trust you to look after it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's brain took a moment to reboot. "I… you're certain, sir?" His hand hovered between them, still holding the lightsaber out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Quite certain. I'll find you later."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'll find you;</span>
  </em>
  <span> as if Cody wouldn't be in Medical waiting for him to wake up. Koon chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder, then levitated Kenobi up to where Hitch and the rest of Cipher Team were waiting. At Cody's elbow, Wolffe snorted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Something you need to tell us, </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod?"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody slapped his helmet back on to hide his suddenly burning ears. "There's nothing to tell. C'mon."</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>"With all respect, sir, this is a trap," Cody whispered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beside him, Kenobi nodded. "It is most definitely a trap. I'm more than a little shocked that anyone approved of the Chancellor leaving to negotiate with Dooku in person in the first place. But this is not where we expected Dooku to bring him. There's something more going on here."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skywalker rolled his eyes. "Dooku taking the Chancellor to a creepy temple? Seems pretty in-character to me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Grievous' demise over Zeltros, the Outer Rim Sieges had taken a turn for the worse for the Separatists, with the Republic managing sweeping victories across the contested territories. Count Dooku, at the urging of the Separatist council, had requested a formal cessation of hostilities and a location to negotiate a formal surrender.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, once Chancellor Palpatine had been in the same room, Dooku had killed his bodyguards -- including two Jedi High Councilors, Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin -- and abducted the Chancellor. But not back to Serenno, or any of the known CIS strongholds like Raxus Secundus. For some reason, the Chancellor had been taken to a CIS-held Mid-Rim system where a Separatist listening post had been destroyed early in the war. Ruusan had previously been known as the place where the final battle against the Sith had been won, a thousand years earlier; the subsequent restructuring of the Republic government and its relationship with the Jedi Order was named for it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody couldn't help wondering if Dooku had chosen the site because of its history.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With Skytop Station destroyed, there was hardly any CIS presence left in the system, leaving an easy approach for Kenobi and Skywalker's strike force. The Chancellor's tracking beacon had led them to a series of ruins that appeared to be more of a fortress than a temple, and--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The feeling of being watched prickled down the back of Cody's neck. It had been haunting him since they'd left the ship, and he could tell from the tension in Rex's shoulders that his </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod</span>
  </em>
  <span> was feeling it too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody glared at Skywalker through his HUD. "Usually when a leader is abducted, the person responsible makes demands. Dooku's up to something, and something about this place is making my skin crawl."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sure you didn't get bugs in your suit?" Skywalker smirked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The urge to hit the man was tempered only because Kenobi was between them. "Maybe you should do your Jedi thing, huh?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi's hand gripped Skywalker's shoulder. "Cody's right, something feels </span>
  <em>
    <span>off</span>
  </em>
  <span> about this place. I'm surprised you can't feel it as well. Many great tragedies occurred here during the Sith Wars, and the echoes linger."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skywalker scowled. "I don't care what happened here. The Chancellor is in there, and the longer we take deciding what to do, the more time Dooku has to do whatever it is he's planning. We need to move fast. There's obviously going to be droids to slow us down, so the men can handle them while you and I go rescue Palpatine. And if we can take Dooku out, here and now, we can end this war for good!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beside Cody, Rex shook his head and muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this." Cody was inclined to agree, but Skywalker was also right. Their options were limited.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still… it felt like something was deeply wrong here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi glanced at him and sighed. "I have a bad feeling as well. I want you and Rex to stay close to us; I would rather not be wholly without backup."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was times like this Cody missed having Commander Tano around; they could really do with an extra Force user right now. He turned to Candor. "You heard him: if we get mobbed by droids, you and Lightfoot," he gestured to Rex's subordinate in charge of Deluge Squad, "will keep it together while the Captain and I stay with our Generals. Stay in contact and try to catch up as quickly as possible. I don't like the idea of splitting up in there."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, sir."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was feeling it: Candor didn't have his usual energy, the others looked tense, and it wasn't just because they were rescuing the Chancellor. In fact, the only person who seemed unaffected was Skywalker. Cody gritted his teeth as he followed the Jedi into the building. Scans had shown its design was pretty straightforward: an offset entryway requiring them to turn right into a long chokepoint hall, then left into a large open room where defenders would have the advantage of cover.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That's where the droids were waiting, and why the Jedi went in first, lightsabers blazing in a shield protecting the soldiers behind them as they advanced in staggered ranks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody spared a moment in firing to check the scanner. "Chancellor's ahead and to the right!" Kenobi signaled that he'd heard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll clear us a path!" Skywalker announced, and launched himself into the furthest-right of the droids' defensive emplacements before waiting for a reply. At least he hadn't decided to go through the middle of the group -- they would have the wall at their backs -- but it left Kenobi to shield their men by himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a testament to just how skilled their General was that he was able to maintain the defense. It's also a testament to how badly the droids were programmed that they don't move to cut off the troops' movement towards the archway on the right until it's too late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The whispers of </span>
  <em>
    <span>it's a trap, it's a trap</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the back of Cody's brain only got louder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were too many droids remaining for their full strike force to advance; Cody hated leaving their squads behind, but General Skywalker was already disappearing around the next corner and Kenobi was muttering curses under his breath. Rex knocked his vambrace against Cody's pauldron. "C'mon."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever they were expecting to find at the end of the corridor… this was not it. The room was large -- not as vast as the entry courtyard, but the shattered remains of technology, stripped by scavengers, suggested it might have been a control room at one point. Shackled to the dusty control chair at the far end was the Chancellor; beside him, with his hands tucked behind his back in a pose reminiscent of parade rest, stood Dooku.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And overhead at the peak of the ceiling, something bulbous and iridescent, like a slick of oil on water, floated. Its surface seethed and bulged, the interior glow wavering like sunlight through water.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skywalker was already moving forward, but Kenobi hesitated, his eyes on the glowing </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing.</span>
  </em>
  <span> "Oh, I have a very bad feeling about this." He held his arms out to stop Rex and Cody from emerging into the light. "I don't want you two anywhere near that. If it ruptures, you don't have the training to resist."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What is it?" Rex whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The last battle between Sith and Jedi here ended when the Sith performed a ritual that eradicated all life in the blast radius and absorbed their Force energy." He remained staring at the rippling blob in horror. "It absorbed them all into </span>
  <em>
    <span>that."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody swallowed. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>osik</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ventress' people got up to was bad enough, but actual Sith sorcery was well beyond his training. "Is it safe?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If undisturbed? Yes." Kenobi gave him a look, his face set in grim lines. "But Dooku lured us here for a reason, and that's likely part of it. Stay back here."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody nodded and gave Rex a quick hand signal. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Recording on.</span>
  </em>
  <span> If things went to shit, someone could look through their helmets' onboard memory to find out what happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Chancellor's face lit up as Skywalker stepped into the shifting light. "Anakin, my boy! I knew you would come to save me!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku snorted. "Foolish and ultimately predictable, as always, Skywalker." His attention shifted to Kenobi as he followed Skywalker. Cody's skin crawled at the look in the man's eyes. Their General had mentioned that Dooku -- the Master of his Master -- had attempted to draw his sympathies before the war had started, and the elderly man had made overtures throughout the war. "Young Obi-Wan. Have you finally given my offer due consideration?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's he talking about, Master?" Skywalker demanded. He stopped short of the middle of the room, not quite below the roiling blob of Force spirit energy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi shook his head as he stepped up to stand on Skywalker's left. "You lay siege to countless Republic and neutral worlds for the sake of greed, and still you persist in asking me to join you, Count. You know what my answer will be."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku shook his head in mock-sadness. "Your loyalty to the Order and your former Padawan has blinded you. But I will make you see." He brought his hands out from behind his back; in his right hand he gripped his 'saber hilt, but in his left he held a metal and glass pyramid which glowed orange-red from the inside. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody hissed softly. "Sith holocron."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How do you know?" Rex asked over their private comms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kenobi." His General had introduced Cody to a holocron containing beginner lessons in lightsaber forms, and had explained the difference between the Jedi and Sith data storage devices.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Can we destroy it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not with blasters."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku was still talking. "Your so-perceptive Council has failed to see the Sith Lord in front of them, and your former Padawan has already Fallen."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skywalker's shoulders went rigid. "That's a lie-!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Is it?" Dooku smiled cruelly. "You never told Master Kenobi what happened on Tatooine, did you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skywalker was a self-absorbed glory hound, but he was not an idiot; the man went from intense and ready to fight, to frigidly cold. "Only two people know about that. Chancellor?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine's eyes were huge. "I never betrayed your trust, my boy! He's trying to unnerve you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Anakin." Kenobi took a step back and turned so he could keep an eye on all three of them at once. "What did you do?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nothing!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tucked in the shadows beside Cody, Rex pressed a hand over his helmet's visor and groaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi's spine straightened; Cody desperately wished he could see his General's face. "What is your point, Count? Why lure us here, of all places?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku's sorrowful frown looked almost genuine. "The end is nearing, Grandpadawan, and if there is a single chance to spare you, I will take it." He lifted the glowing pyramid. "In this chamber are trapped the spirits of every Sith who died in the last battle of Ruusan. Released, they will be drawn to those whose hearts conceal Darkness. If your former Padawan is innocent, you need have nothing to fear." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi was shaking his head. "There is Darkness in everyone, Count, including me. It's the refusal to act upon it which makes us Jedi. Your plan is flawed. Please, stop this madness."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Count hesitated, but then his expression hardened. "Then this will be a true test for you." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pyramid in his hand glowed brighter and the sides floated free, orbiting the glowing core as a beam of red light shot out and struck the mass of Force energy near the ceiling. The iridescent barrier peeled away, and for a moment, nothing happened in utter silence. Then wisps of white light drifted free of the larger mass, floating around the room like Nubian marshlights, carrying with them the sound of indistinct voices whispering things that couldn't quite be heard. Rex muttered a curse and pressed closer to the wall; Cody made sure his helmet cam was catching everything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Skywalker had his lightsaber in hand but not lit; Kenobi was motioning for him to put it away. Dooku was watching the glowing wisps with open fascination, while Palpatine--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Palpatine's eyes were </span>
  <em>
    <span>glowing.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The man remained shackled to the chair, but in the weird half-light, his eyes gleamed yellow as he watched, with something like hunger on his face. Cody had seen a lot of creepy things in the last three years, and many more growing up on Kamino, but something about the Chancellor gave him </span>
  <em>
    <span>chills.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody really hoped the darkened hall was sufficient to hide them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As more wisps slipped free of the cluster, a few started to circle Kenobi and Skywalker. The Jedi Master's shoulders relaxed the way they did when he slipped into meditation, and an invisible barrier pushed the wisps away from him. Skywalker either didn't have the knowledge or the skill to do the same; he batted at one that got too close and it latched onto his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Anakin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>focus,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kenobi snapped as Skywalker fell to his knees, clutching his head. The wisp had vanished, but there were more behind it, hovering around Skywalker as if waiting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi started to reach for Skywalker again, then threw himself backwards as Skywalker's lightsaber whipped towards his head. He barely got his own blade in place to block the next strike. The two exchanged blows with Kenobi on the defense. Skywalker's expression was eerily blank.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody twitched as his comm blared, </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Droids are down, sir. Do you require backup?"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, stay there. Keep anyone else from coming down this hall," Cody ordered. The last thing they needed was more people in the room to maybe get possessed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What the fuck are they doing?" Rex was muttering. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Trying to break Obi-Wan's concentration so they can get him, too," Cody answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, so it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>Obi-Wan</span>
  </em>
  <span> now, is it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi had given Cody permission to use his first name while they were training. Cody was very careful not to use it in any other context, to maintain a level of professional separation. "How do you have the energy to spare for teasing me right now?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex's grin was audible. "I'll always have time for that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're the worst </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod'ika,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I swear."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were bantering to combat their nerves and relieve tension; there was nothing they could do to assist their Generals without exposing themselves to the Force spirits Dooku had unleashed. Cody's stomach twisted at how helpless he was. It was his job to protect his General, but this was something he couldn't fight. It occurred to him that they could switch their blasters to stun and try to knock Skywalker out, but that was no guarantee that it would affect the spirit that was using him. It might even make things worse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi was pleading with Skywalker, letting his former Padawan drive him back across the room; Skywalker gave no indication he even heard him. Who knew what the thing that had possessed him was projecting into his mind, or if he was even aware of what he was doing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At the far end of the room, Dooku was encouraging Kenobi to fight back properly. "You're wasting time, Obi-Wan, if you wish to save the Chancellor's life."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You don't really want to kill him," Kenobi gritted as he fended off another of Skywalker's attacks. "Otherwise you would already have done so. And if you were serious about my joining you, you have an odd way of persuading me. Whatever happened to the Order's premiere diplomat? What are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> after?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Dooku hesitated, for just a moment, and looked at Palpatine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you kidding me?" Cody whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He barely had time to register the flash of grim determination on Kenobi's face, the look that meant his General had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrible</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea but it was better than all the alternatives. Then his General </span>
  <em>
    <span>screamed</span>
  </em>
  <span> as his lightsaber went flying, along with his hand, severed at the wrist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi staggered back against the wall, deathly pale, clutching the end of his right arm. In front of him, Skywalker faltered, some life returning to his eyes. Cody had his rifle in a death grip, the plasteel squeaking under his hands as he fought to not do anything to reveal himself. Rex was cursing a blue streak and looked ready to go in firing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku was livid. "This was not the plan!" He turned toward the Chancellor, who may as well have been seated on a throne instead of being cuffed to the ancient control chair. It did kind of resemble a throne, actually.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> the plan, Count Dooku?" Palpatine asked sharply, with a note of command Cody had never before heard from the soft-spoken man. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kenobi was to be mine!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Was he?" The Chancellor turned a frigid glare upon the Count, and the glow from his eyes brightened. "It seems to me that you have gravely miscalculated."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A whole cluster of wisps was suddenly </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> interested in Dooku, circling him like a flock of hungry xuvva. He held up a hand, shielding himself from them. "Do you think to test me now, Lord Sidious?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody sucked in a breath. That wasn't--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Everything is a test, Lord Tyranus," Palpatine hissed. "If you refuse to meet the challenge, you are replaceable."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku's eyes flashed and he struck at Palpatine with his lightsaber; the Chancellor had his own hilt in hand, blocking red with red, as if he hadn't just been handcuffed to the chair. As if he'd been armed the entire time and Dooku had known.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Am I really seeing this?" Rex muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Over by the wall, Kenobi had tucked his injured arm close and was gripping Skywalker's shoulder, speaking to him quietly whilst watching the confrontation between Dooku and Palpatine. Skywalker had tears streaming down his face unchecked -- he was in bad shape, a Tatooine native would never willingly cry like that. But he seemed to be coming back to himself. The wisps that had been haunting him were drawn away to the fight between-- between </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tyranus</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sidious,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> trying to explain all of this to the Senate was going to be impossible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Obi-Wan, are you--?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll be fine, Anakin. You need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>focus." </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Typical Kenobi, putting his own care aside again. Cody spared him a fond glance, but he had other priorities. Like making sure they had a clear recording of Sheev Palpatine and Count Dooku fighting with lightsabers while scores of freed Force wisps circled them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something knocked against his foot; Kenobi's lightsaber came to rest between Cody's foot and the wall, and he stared at it for a moment, speechless. There was no way it could have freely rolled across the room….</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi was looking in their direction, still grey-faced with pain, while Skywalker struggled to meditate next to him. When their eyes met, the Jedi Master quirked a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Focus. Right.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody was no Jedi. But he was a soldier, trained by the best. Trained by people who often hunted Jedi, and trained by a Master of the Order. He went to one knee to collect the weapon and </span>
  <em>
    <span>focused</span>
  </em>
  <span> on its familiar presence in his hand. It felt warm, like his General, steady and self-assured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Cody?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked up at Rex. "Palpatine… he's like Grievous, he'll never surrender. If he's Sidious? He's the greatest threat to the Republic in the galaxy, regardless of everything else."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What--?" Rex sounded terrified.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm going to do my job." They'd need Dooku alive to testify before the Senate. Cody was no Jedi; he couldn't face a Sith lord on their terms. But he could be a distraction. The blade glowed blue in his hands and he sprinted across the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course Sidious noticed him immediately; a bolt of lightning shot from the man's fingers towards him. Cody barely got the lightsaber in the way to block, and the energy discharge was still enough to knock him breathless. His steps faltered and it took all his strength to keep Kenobi's lightsaber in position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sidious laughed, and the sound curdled in Cody's gut. "Commander Cody, how good of you to join us. Execute Order--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"NO!"</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Dooku did something that caused his own 'saber to flare with Force lightning. Whatever Sidious had been about to say was interrupted by his own cry of pain. In what Cody now recognized as a classic Makashi riposte, Dooku knocked Sidious' blade to the side and stabbed forward, running Sidious through with the lightning-imbued blade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Force wisps converged as Sidious shrieked, and then something </span>
  <em>
    <span>exploded,</span>
  </em>
  <span> white-cold and deafening in its silence. Pain lanced through Cody's side as he hit the wall and tumbled to the floor, gasping, and the world went black.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Cody! Shit, Cody--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex was leaning over him, the beam from his helmet light cutting through the darkness.  His brother carefully slid Cody's helmet off, and he squinted against the light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How long was I out?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A couple seconds at most. Your left shoulder's dislocated, careful--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Then help me up, dammit."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rex's head tilted in the way it did when his eyes were narrowed. "Pardon me for saying so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>vod,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but you're an idiot."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody snorted and then hissed through his teeth as Rex helped him sit up. "Is it over?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah. The spirits all vanished when the Chancellor, uh. Exploded? There's nothing left of him except his saber, and it's broken. Dooku's alive but in bad shape, the Generals are-- well, they're not </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but they're alive."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Then it worked. I'll take it." He fumbled around until his hand brushed the cool metal of Kenobi's lightsaber hilt, and clipped it to his belt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Penlight's gonna have a field day with you." Rex grabbed Cody's helmet, tried to turn the light on -- it didn't work -- and offered a hand up which Cody ignored.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody tucked his left arm close and struggled to his feet. "Worth it," he grunted, and finally allowed Rex to take some of his weight. It was hard to tell in the dark, but Cody thought his own armour looked singed and discoloured in places. Considering how charred Dooku looked, the armour had probably spared him much worse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cleanup was quick: Deluge and Cipher had mopped up another pack of droids that had tried to creep up the hall, and there was nothing in the way of extraction except droid bits. Hitch and Coric got Dooku stabilised -- the Sith went willingly without protest -- and had one of the drop ships land as close to the ruins as possible, prodding Cody, Kenobi, and Skywalker onboard, all bound for Medical whether they wanted to go or not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi settled carefully on Cody's right and leaned against his good shoulder. "That... could have gone better."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did you really need to sacrifice a hand, sir?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh." Kenobi's shoulders shifted in a faint shrug. "Anakin and I never fully dissolved our training bond; just repurposed it into a partnership bond. I knew he would feel it if I was hurt, regardless of what the spirits were doing. Anakin thought he was fighting Dooku."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody frowned. "About those. What </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> those things?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Shattered remnants of dead Sith and Jedi, both. They didn't even have the capacity for conscious thought anymore, just instinctive need to absorb enough energy to fully pass into the Force." Kenobi grimaced. "Sidious exploding like that was more than sufficient, I think. I'm not looking forward to explaining this."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With the eerie clairvoyance of medics, Hitch and Coric turned to glare at Kenobi, and Cody laughed. "At least you won't have to worry about the formal review until you're cleared from Medical."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We'll still have to write up a report on it. I'm glad you and Rex recorded everything."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The feed from Cody's bucket cam had saved safely, right up until Palpatine had exploded. It would be difficult for anyone to claim two different matching recordings had been faked. "I might stand trial for helping to kill the Chancellor."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kenobi's fingers interlaced with Cody's and squeezed. "We won't let you stand alone. But until then, would you mind if I pass out on your shoulder for a bit?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was dreadfully inappropriate, but considering what they'd just gone through, Cody couldn't bring himself to care about the regs at the moment. "Nope. Want your lightsaber back first?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You hang onto it for now, dear."</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<hr/>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Revelations from the Senate inquiry into Chancellor Palpatine's collaboration with Count Dooku, leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, have sparked numerous investigations into the private business dealings of a number of Senators. The Jedi High Council has released a formal statement--"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're not still watching that?" Cody asked gently as he settled onto the couch. "It's just a rotating cycle of the same broadcast."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, but occasionally they give the script to a new reporter," Obi-Wan said. He let Cody turn the sound off on the holocast and leaned into his side. The protective connector cuff had only just been attached to his arm that morning, and it was sending odd phantom muscle twitches up his arm as the system meshed with his nerve endings. The news, unfortunately, was not much of a distraction, and if he tried to think of anything else, it always seemed to filter back into what had happened on Ruusan a week earlier.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While Dooku and Palpatine were fighting each other, Anakin had poured out a confession about Tatooine. It really had been the worst time for that, and Obi-Wan had needed to push his horror into the back of his mind to be dealt with at a later time. 'Later' had taken three days, long enough to return to Coruscant and beg Mace to meditate with him on the whole thing. He'd recused himself from any Council decisions regarding Anakin's treatment -- the young man had been assigned mandatory Mind Healer sessions, which had been sharply escalated when a significant amount of erosion was found in crucial parts of Anakin's mind. He had been close to the Chancellor, after all, and Palpatine had clearly been in the process of grooming Anakin for some purpose. Obi-Wan shuddered to think what that might have been.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dooku was cooperating with the Council. Palpatine's death explosion had caught even him unawares, although the Count speculated that it was Dark Side energy the man had been in the process of channeling. His initial intentions -- to cure the Republic's steady decline -- may have grown cloudy as the war ground on, but when given the opportunity to reveal his knowledge of numerous Senate misdeeds, he had happily handed the Loyalist Committee enough evidence to impeach fully a third of the standing Senate. Then he'd revealed the presence of incontrovertible Orders programmed into a biochip implanted in every clone soldier. The GAR had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> busy performing brain scans and surgeries; the Senate had protested the use of resources, but the High Council -- Obi-Wan voting via holo from the Halls of Healing -- had refused to maintain a system which made the troops into total slaves, and Republic Strategic Command had agreed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beyond that, Dooku had offered the Council the keys to access a number of storehouses Sidious had scattered across the galaxy, filled with illicit Sith and Jedi artifacts, and the Council of First Knowledge and the Shadows were going to be busy for at least the next decade dealing with those.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An emergency election had been held to fill the Chancellor's seat -- nobody trusted the established traditional transfer of power, given that everyone in the existing chain had been appointed by Palpatine once Emergency Powers had been granted. Senator Mothma of Chandrila had won by a landslide, and quickly dashed any hopes that she would be easy to manipulate given her youth and relative inexperience. She had taken every piece of incriminating evidence handed over by Dooku and gone on a chopping spree, uprooting a number of entrenched coalitions through the power granted by the still-active Emergency Powers Act.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's fingers in his hair brought him out of the grey spiral of his thoughts. "I'm not sure being on Coruscant right now is so good for you," he said, and Obi-Wan smiled in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Probably not. I'm needed here, but Mace has basically ordered me to take a break once they attach my new hand and make certain it's connecting properly." The entire Council could use a break, but half of them were still out in the galaxy, maintaining order when Separatist fragments tried to throw their weight around. Finding and shutting down the droid factories was a priority, but there were plenty of droid armies still at large, and the galaxy was a big place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody hummed contentedly as they settled closer together. Their time spent training had made them both aware of feelings they were not strictly allowed to express -- the division between ranks was one not lightly breached, particularly between Jedi and trooper. The process of granting the clones their rights as sentient beings had been started multiple times from different angles, only to run afoul of issues with the army, issues with Kamino, issues with the Senate… the red tape twining around the clones' very existence was sticky, stubborn, and required the use of a pair of immense scissors, wielded cheerfully by Chancellor Mothma and backed by the Delegation of Two Thousand. Coruscant suddenly gained three million citizens overnight, barely a drop in the bucket. Because the contract was ostensibly written up by the Jedi Order -- whether they had known of it at the time or not -- and the Order had taken on the burden of seeing to their needs already, the entire army was folded into the Order's non-Jedi service population. Several Senators had put up a protest about granting the Jedi too much power; in response, Mothma had gleefully produced a list of a thousand years' worth of legislation which had systematically defanged the Order to the point where the outside creation of an army had been a necessity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And, the new Chancellor had added sweetly, need she remind the Senators that their own worlds had staunchly refused to consider the instatement of a service draft? A world that was unwilling to assist in the defense of the Republic should, perhaps, not complain about the population of the groups who had no choice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody was no longer Obi-Wan's subordinate; at least, no more his subordinate than any non-Council member of the Order. Lacking anywhere else to go, Cody could have remained on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vigilance</span>
  </em>
  <span> with most of the rest of the 212th. Instead, once his shoulder was fixed to the medics' satisfaction, he'd volunteered to stay with Obi-Wan and assist him while he underwent procedures to attach a cybernetic hand. It was thoughtful, and Obi-Wan appreciated the gesture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was also the way Cody had kissed him the moment the door had closed behind them, shutting out the rest of the world and a very nosy Temple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"You are frustrating, outrageous, self-sacrificing the point where you give me a heart attack almost daily, and I wish you would take better care of yourself,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> he'd whispered, fingers in Obi-Wan's hair. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"And I've been wanting to do that for months."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan had pressed their foreheads together, breathing in their shared space, and tightened his arms around Cody's ribs; there was a twinge of disorientation when he couldn't feel anything under his right hand and it seemed to pass through Cody's back, but he'd been told that having a properly fitted cybernetic would resolve that. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"I do hope you're not expecting any of that to change,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> he had murmured back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"I'll accept a compromise on the taking care of yourself part, at least."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hadn't done more than kiss and fall asleep together in Obi-Wan's bed, which… honestly, had been the best part of everything. The strong heartbeat against Obi-Wan's chest had been comforting, and knowing he could be there to hold Cody when he woke up with nightmares had settled something in Obi-Wan's mind. It was easier to not worry for Cody when he was right there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was everything else that was getting to him, though. Obi-Wan sighed, reached up left-handed -- it was an awkward position, but he'd passed caring -- and pulled Cody into a kiss. "I could do with a distraction, I think."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody grinned against his lips. "Sounds like you have something in mind?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hmm," he agreed, and pushed up, swinging his right leg over Cody's and settling onto his lap. "Unless you have objections?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's eyes had gone wide, and he rested his hands on Obi-Wan's hips. "No objections, but I was assuming you were waiting until your hand was fitted."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Resting his right forearm around Cody's shoulders, Obi-Wan murmured, "I can make do with one hand." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The warmth in Cody's eyes made him shiver; Cody tugged him in close until they were pressed together, and Obi-Wan kissed him on the mouth, swallowing the soft, hungry noise Cody made. Cody started to reach between them and Obi-Wan laughed softly and claimed his wrists -- one with his left hand, the other with the Force -- and pinned them against the back of the sofa by Cody's shoulders. The confirmation of Cody's consent was welcome, but Obi-Wan had other plans for the evening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody made a sound that was equal parts surprised and aroused, and Obi-Wan nosed beneath Cody's jaw, pessing his mouth over the sensitive skin beneath his ear. He was rewarded by a soft, hitched breath, and Cody gasped, "Master Kenobi, what would the--</span>
  <em>
    <span> oh fuck--</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Council say about such a… an inappropriate use of the Force?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pressed as close as they were, Obi-Wan could feel Cody's blood rushing south; he rolled his hips, slowly, and grinned when Cody cursed again. "We can consider it an exercise in fine control, I think?" Not that the Council gave a damn what a Jedi did with the Force when they weren't in front of wondering onlookers. He kissed his way down Cody's throat, took a moment to replace his left hand with a gentle push from the Force to keep Cody's arm where he'd put it, and ran his hand down Cody's chest, over the tight dark-coloured shirt Cody preferred when he was in his civvies. Cody sucked in a gasp when Obi-Wan's fingers found his nipple, and Obi-Wan teased him through the shirt with his fingernails until Cody whimpered. He slid his hand lower, up under Cody's shirt and across his stomach, feeling warm, soft skin over taut muscle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody was broadcasting, not loudly, but enough that Obi-Wan could figure out what spots to avoid; tickling could be fun, but it wasn't what either of them wanted right now. He tugged Cody's shirt up and off, allowing him enough freedom to move before pushing his hands back against the sofa, and Cody cursed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I've been waiting to get my hands on you for months, you know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan chuckled and tugged at the simple knot holding his wrapped tunic closed -- they'd quickly discovered that the wrapped top was the easiest for him to deal with one-handed. "I know. But you've been taking care of me the entire war. Tonight, it's my turn." He shrugged the tunic off, letting it fall to the floor, and reveled for a moment in the way Cody looked at him darkened eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They'd seen each other shirtless -- even naked -- before, but not in anything like an intimate situation. They knew each other's scars, had even been present for the creation of a few of them, but the freedom to </span>
  <em>
    <span>touch</span>
  </em>
  <span> hadn't been there. Obi-Wan leaned in, opening his mouth to the flick of Cody's tongue across his lips, and pressed his chest flush against Cody's. Cody groaned and the muscles in his arms flexed against the hold still keeping his hands out of the way. Delighted, Obi-Wan set about gently taking Cody apart, one delicate piece at a time, with only his hand and mouth, drawing it out until Cody was straining beneath him, gasping and shuddering.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Obi-Wan-- Obi-Wan, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please--"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hand on Cody's belt, tugging at the buckle, drew needy sounds from Cody's throat. Obi-Wan had to resort to using the Force for help getting Cody's pants open. The gutted moan wrenched from deep in Cody's chest when Obi-Wan wrapped his fingers around his cock was worth all the effort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cody's face, utterly wrecked with passion and glistening with sweat from the effort of holding back, was captivating, and Obi-Wan couldn't tear his eyes away as he teased the head of Cody's cock with his thumb, then gripped him firmly and dragged his hand back down. Cody's jaw dropped as his head fell back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Fuck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Obi-Wan, any more of that and I'm gonna--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan sealed their mouths together and gave him more, until Cody's hips jerked beneath him and he came with a strained gasp. Cody sagged back into the sofa, panting and staring at him dazedly, and Obi-Wan released his hands, letting them slide down. After a moment, Cody dragged his arms up to wrap around Obi-Wan tightly, pressing his sweaty forehead to Obi-Wan's sternum. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You," he mumbled into Obi-Wan's chest, "are an evil, evil, Sithspitting bastard. Why do I love you, again?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan's breath caught at the inadvertent admission. He wiped his hand on Cody's discarded shirt and ran his fingers through Cody's hair, soothing. "I figured, since you took such good care of my lightsaber, it was only fair if I returned the favour."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took Cody a moment to process that. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Uuuugh!"</span>
  </em>
  <span> he groaned, and rolled them sideways and over, shoving Obi-Wan into the couch beneath him as they laughed. "Wolffe was right about the puns. I can't believe it." He raised his head, and the devious glint in his eye made Obi-Wan's pulse race. "You know what this means, though? It means I get to take as long as I want getting back at you." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pinned Obi-Wan's left hand to the cushion above his head; Obi-Wan obediently raised his right arm to rest beside it, grateful for the consideration to his still-sensitive wrist. Keeping both his hands pinned would have to be an experience for later, once the cybernetic was integrated fully. Cody favoured him with a deep, lingering kiss before saying, "And no using the Force to get out of this one."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan did end up using the Force, but it was most definitely inappropriate, and Cody certainly wasn't complaining.</span>
</p>
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